A career fair at the Coliseum

SMU students dressed in suits, pencil skirts, and ties filled the concourses of Moody Coliseum at a The Hegi Family Career and Development Center’s Spring Career and Internship Fair Tuesday. The event was geared toward students in all majors and included 73 employers and about 700 students.

Career fair attendees

This event is an essential part of the Hegi Family Career and Development Center and a “catalyst for career search success,” said Executive Director Crystal Clayton.

“The overall goal of the career fair is to introduce SMU students in all majors to a professional network in order to increase opportunities for hands on learning through internship, full-time job, and shadowing experiences,” Clayton said. “Additionally, this event assists in students increasing their knowledge of various careers, industries, and organizations by talking directly with professionals that work in them on a daily basis.”

This was the first time the event was held at the home of the SMU basketball team. Moody Coliseum was crowded with students lined up to meet recruiters and representatives from various companies including ISN, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Mary Kay Inc., Raytheon, PricewaterhouseCooper, KPMG, Epsilon, among others.

“SMU is an amazing school. They have a lot of very talented students. I think it’s a great opportunity here. We look for the brightest of the brightest and that’s why we’re here,” said Lisa Egartr of PWC, one of the country’s top accounting firms. “We are constantly going to career fairs now and just seeing how amazing talent is out there…we’re very excited for it all.”

Madison Worley, a representative from Dilliard’s, agreed.

“We go to a lot of career fairs all across the world,” Worley said. She pointed out that it is important to come to these events “no matter what year you are.”

Junior Alejandro Gallart, an Economics and Financial Applications Major, was particularly interested in the banking recruiters.

“Right now, it’s a little hectic, there’s a lot of people going around,” Gallart said. “I met a lot of cool people. Made some great connections…It’s a great opportunity. If you’re looking for a job, you’ll get exposed to a lot of employers. There are big companies looking for SMU grads.”

Melaine Calzada was one of the first job candidates to enter the event.

“I thought it was awesome. They have a really diverse set of companies in there. Everyone is really engaged,” said Calzada.

Both she and Gallart took advantage of events and information sessions by the Hegi Family and Career Center that allowed students to have early access to the career fair.

Blakey Locke, a representative of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, emphasized the importance of meeting people that could provide jobs if not right away, then in the future.

“I think SMU students should come to career fairs first and foremost so that they can network. So they can actually meet employers,” Locke said. “Maybe an employer might not have a job for them right now, but maybe six months down the road they might have an opening that they’d be fit for.”